


Star Tears

by PinkLotus (EspurrsVena)



Category: JO1 (Japan Band), OWV, Produce 101 (Japan TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Idol/Backdancer, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, star tears disease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25566163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspurrsVena/pseuds/PinkLotus
Summary: It is fitting that you develop the Star tears disease when you fall in love with someone named after a gem, isn’t it?In the moment of Shosei’s biggest tour, everything turns to the worst.
Relationships: Ohira Shosei/Shiroiwa Ruki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Star Tears

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shoseilovemail](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoseilovemail/gifts).



The day the first crystals dropped from his eyes was the day Shosei realised that he was in love with Ruki. In the beginning, he thought he was just admiring the singer he recently started working with. How couldn’t you admire Shiroiwa Ruki? He was handsome, funny and talented. Sure, he wasn’t the best dancer but that’s why background dancers like Shosei existed. People like him completed a performance.

However, being asked to dance with and for Ruki had been a surprise. So far, Shosei had always worked with Hip Hop artists like JUNE, but one day after a gig a red-haired guy named Kosuke came to him and asked whether he wanted to join Ruki’s next tour as a background dancer. At first, Shosei was confused about the offer which came from a genre and a guy he had never worked with. Eventually, he found out that Kosuke was somehow the leader of the dancers that supported the Ruki and there was a spot open in the team. The tour he was scheduled to join was much bigger than the ones Shosei had worked on previously, thus making it a huge opportunity for him.

At the same time, Shosei was a little scared of Ruki. He had seen him on TV and the idol singer always carried a prince like aura. A street taught kid like him joining the tour of Japan’s entertainment prince? It was too good to be true. Yet he agreed to go to the casting and ultimately, Ruki himself choose him to fill the vacant spot. 

Not wanting to disappoint the singer, Shosei trained harder than ever. He wanted to impress him even more, especially because the other members of the dance crew were older and more experienced than him.

Someday, besides training day and night he also got the chance to get to know Ruki better and surprisingly, they had a lot in common. They both liked Disney and Sanrio characters, had the same favourite movies and a similar humour. Initially, Shosei thought he found an older brother in Ruki, but with the time his feelings grew for the singer.  
However, there was a problem: Kosuke. 

The singer and the dancer had been friends since the kindergarten, hence making their bond deep. It was obvious that there was nothing or rather no one who could come between them. If Kosuke or rather Yasupon, a nickname that Ruki gave him years ago and was allowed to use only, suggested something the singer would do it. He was like Ruki’s unofficial manager and the singer trusted him with his life.  
There was no way that there could be room for Shosei in Ruki’s heart, too, the blonde dancer thought.

Shosei tried to stay in denial, but the day white and lapis blue gems started to drop from his eyes, he had to accept the fact that he had fallen for the singer. Also, he had to accept that the biggest tour in his life would be his last one because soon he would lose the ability to see.  
Back when he was a child, his older sister told him about the Star Tears Disease. 

Long ago, Shosei thought it was just a story to scare kids, but the gems that dropped from his eyes were real and painful. Yet, it seemed to fit ironically that he developed this disease because of his feelings for the Lapis lazuli prince(ss) of the white rock. As much as everything hurt, Shosei wanted to enjoy the last months/weeks/days of his career, of his dream, of his time with Ruki the fullest.

However, when you live a life on the road, it was difficult to hide a disease like that. The gems he cried made a sound when they dropped on the floor and he had no idea where to hide them. Ultimately, he just let them lay around, hoping no one would associate them with him. 

“Guys, you won’t believe what I’ve found again. More gemstones.” They were scheduled to perform in Fukuoka that day and once again, Shosei had shed gems while hiding at the toilet before the show. He had already lost the ability to see blue colours by the time Kosuke announced his findings.  
“Weird... I wonder if that’s from a crazy fan? No matter where we go, we will find those gemstones sooner or later.” Ruki’s manager Sho seemed to be worried about the discoveries.

“But we always found them backstage where no fan can’t enter.” The singer himself seemed less worried and took a fascinated look at the stones.  
“Still. It can’t be someone from the crew. Why would anyone of us leave those gems here? Unlike you we aren’t rich.”  
Ruki wasn’t just the current IT idol of Japan, his family was also quite rich. If there was someone out there who didn’t need more money, it was surely him. “Then keep them. See it as a bonus for making the tour successful.” 

“Ruki, we don’t know the origin of those stones. We can’t keep them.” Once more, Kosuke was the voice of reason.  
“I guess you are right.” And once more, Ruki agreed to him.  
Seeing Ruki agreeing to Kosuke again, made Shosei’s heart sink. It was reasonable what the red haired one said. When you didn’t know source of the gems like Shosei did, you had to be careful about them. Yet at the same time it reminded Shosei once more of the bond the dancer had with the idol – a bond he would never have.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Ruki acted on his own regarding the gems. For the second day they played in Fukuoka, the singer presented everyone with modified stage outfits.  
“I know, we shouldn’t use them, but we can’t let those gifts waste, so I thought that we use them in a smart way. I asked my designers, Keigo and Syoya, to integrate them into our stage outfits. Sho, Yasupon before you say something: they can be easily removed.”

Besides not being able to see the true colours of some of the stones anymore, the new version of their outfits looked beautiful for Shosei. They looked like the night sky full of stars now. “Thank you, Ruki.” He could feel his face becoming a little warmer when the idol presented him with his new attire.  
“You gave me the idea. Those gems sparkle just like your eyes.” For a moment, Shosei thought he was dreaming yet he could feel Ruki’s warmth when he touched him a little too long and saw his beautiful smile.

“You are so cheesy, Ruki.” Sadly, Kosuke’s voice made himk return to the reality again.  
“I’m not cheesy, Yasupon. You are just bad with words and jealous.” The smile Ruki gave to Kosuke in that moment was so different to his one earlier, so full of deep affection that Shosei’s heart broke once more.

Naturally, the scene before the show resulted in the worst gem-outpour he had in a while. It even costed him the ability to see red, too. He felt that the end of his dance career coming closer, yet all he wanted was to finish at least that tour. He had memorised all the dances, thus even if he became blind mid-tour, he would be able to continue – if no one discovered it.  
Also, everyone was surprised to find gems that night again, yet Ruki made sure that Keigo and Syoya would add those to their costumes, too. 

Still, the whole thing exhausted Shosei and he decided to spend the next day, a free one, in the hotel. Ruki wanted to go out with everyone, despite the possibility of being caught by media and/or fans. Shosei however opted to stay behind because crying so many gems the day before made Shosei’s eyes hurt still. Sure, it costed him a chance to be close to the singer, yet he had no energy left. Maybe, it was a sign that he had to give up already, he thought.

To his surprise, he heard a knock on the door and when he opened it, Ruki was standing there. “Hey, I’ve heard from Yasupon that you are not feeling well, so I wanted to check on you.”  
As happy as Shosei was about the older one coming over, the fact that it happened because of Kosuke once again, was another stab into his broken heart.

“Thank you. I’m only a bit exhausted. This is the longest tour I’ve ever participated.” Shosei didn’t want to worry his secret crush, thus he tried to mask his true feelings as good as he could. Once it was time to part from his crew, he wanted him to have a good memory of him.  
“You know what helps on those days? A Disney movie marathon! And I happen to know the perfect movies for that.” Ruki’s smile was sweet, thus Shosei had to let him into his room. Earlier, Shosei hadn’t noticed that the singer had his laptop with him which he opened when he sat down on the bed. “Sit down or I’m starting the movie without you.”

The blonde one followed the request of course, yet he was unable to focus on the movie. It was the first time that he was alone with the idol and they’ve never been physically that close before. It made Shosei’s heart beat like the wings of a humming bird and he was shaking a bit.  
Being so close, Ruki noticed that and pulled him closer which made the younger one’s heart to speed up even more. “You are not becoming sick, are you?”  
“No don’t worry.” I am sick already, he added in his mind.  
“Good. I want to continue to stand on stage with you until the end.”

Truly, Ruki had a talent with words, Shosei thought in that moment. His mind told him, that the singer meant it in nothing but a professional way, that it was bad to lose a dancer in the middle of the tour, still his heart couldn’t help but hope that he was more than just a dancer for the other one. “I want the same.”

They stayed in that position, Ruki holding Shosei in his arms, besides Shosei being the taller one of them. The feeling was just too good and it was a once in a lifetime chance for him, thus his heart never stopped racing. Also, he couldn’t take his eyes of Ruki. Even without the make-up and fancy stage clothes, he was still handsome. In Shosei’s eyes Ruki was someone who was beautiful on the outside and on the inside, thus making it no surprise that the dancer had fallen for him. 

Sometime, there was a knock on the door again and they heard Kosuke’s voice from the other side. “Shosei, did you see Ruki? We wanted to go to the city together, but I can’t find him.”  
The younger one knew that this visitor meant the end of their wonderful time together. Ruki always had time for the red haired one, no matter what he was doing before. Yet the current situation was so wonderful that he didn’t want it to end despite his thoughts being selfish.

Without realising it, gem tears left his eyes anew. His eyes still hurt from the day before, yet when Ruki’s rich brown hair turned into grey, he realised what was happening.  
The singer meanwhile noticed what was going on when the first white and blue gems dropped on his shirt. “It’s you? Those gems come from you?”, he asked in disbelief.  
Shosei could only nod while the pain got worse and more gems dropped from his eyes.

“Ruki? Are you here?” They heard from the other side. “I think I’ve heard your voice. What’s going on? Are you alright?”  
“Yasupon, I’m here but Shosei isn’t feeling well.” The singer’s voice sounded alarmed and Shosei wanted to calm him down, yet he couldn’t do it. He was too busy in fighting against his gem tears.

“You don’t sound well either. Let me in.” Naturally, there was worry in Kosuke’s voice, too, but all the blonde haired one could think of was that he should leave.  
“Later. I don’t think you can help much right now.”  
“But-”  
“No, come back later.”  
“Ruki, the way you talk makes me worried. What is going on there?”

Shosei knew he had to let the other one in and that he was selfish for wanting to be alone with Ruki, but he had no energy to get up and the gems still came out of his eyes. The ability to see the colour yellow also had left him and his world turned greyer with every second.  
“I’ll explain everything to you later, Yasupon. Let me take care of Shosei now.”  
“Are you sure? Let me help you. You aren’t good in taking care of yourself.”  
“Honda Kosuke, I can take care of myself and Shosei. Go and have fun on your own.” For the first time in their time together, Shosei heard the singer calling his friend by his full name instead of his nickname and he sounded somewhat pissed for the time being.

“Okay okay. No reason to become angry. I just wanted to help.” They heard the other dancer leave and instead of pushing him away, Ruki pulled him even closer.  
“He just wanted to help.” While Shosei was glad that Ruki chose him over his childhood friend, he didn’t want any conflicts in their crew. He truly wanted to enjoy his last days with them.  
“I know. But sometimes he treats me like a child.”

“It’s because he loves you.” If he was in Kosuke’s place, Shosei would treat Ruki differently, yet every person had their own way to express their affection for someone else.  
“Like a little brother, yes. But sometimes he forgets that I’ve grown up, too.”  
Instantly, Shosei thought he misheard Ruki. After all the interactions between the singer and his childhood friend he witnessed, there was no way that the two weren’t a couple? “But you and Kosuke? Aren’t you...”

“We are childhood friends and he is like an older brother to me, but that’s all. Seriously, I don’t need a babysitter as a boyfriend, too. It’s enough that my best friend and dance leader plus my manager act like my babysitters far too often.” Gently, Ruki removed some stones from Shosei’s face. “You got the Star Tears Disease because of me?”

“You know it?” Besides his sister telling him about the disease when they were younger, Shosei had never come across it in his daily life, thus making him assume it was nothing but a story his sister had made up.  
“Yes, the disease is the reason for my weird name.”  
Like everyone else in this country, Shosei had assumed to Ruki’s name was nothing but a stage name, yet it was his birthname. Until now no one knew why his parents had chosen such an unusual name, thus making the blonde curious about the story.

“Before I was born, my mom was secretly in love to my dad. Yet he was the heir of Shiroiwa Industries and she was nothing but his secretary. To add to her misery, my grandparents wanted my dad to marry the daughter of another wealthy family. Believing she had no chance with my dad, she developed this disease. Luckily, my dad had his own head and confessed to her before it was too late and my grandparents accepted her, too. Probably, they thought she was also rich thanks to all those gems, but when they discovered the truth my parents were already married. They even used some of the gems for their wedding bands.” The singer chuckled a little. “So, when she was pregnant, they also wanted to incorporate their special love story into the name of their first born, too. Because my mom shed blue gemstones first and they somehow forgot to change the second kanji when I was born as a boy, it became Ruki, Lapis lazuli princess.”

The story was as unforeseen as it was fascinating for Shosei. He had dreamed of such a happy end for himself, too, and besides knowing that Kosuke was no competition for the other one’s heart, he was still in doubt that Ruki returned his feelings. “I’m glad your mother found happiness.”  
“Me too. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here right now.” Ruki smiled softly at him and began to caress Shosei’s hair. “I’m sorry that you have to go through this, too.”  
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” He wasn’t okay, but he didn’t want the other one to feel bad. The disease and his upcoming blindness were his problem. He would find a way to deal with it and a new path in life.

“So according to my parents the disease is healed by having your feelings returned, isn’t it?”  
“That’s what my sister told me, too. I always thought it was nothing but a bedtime story when I was younger, but it seems like it’s true.” Especially in such painful moments Shosei wished that it was nothing but a story. Deep down he already knew that blindness was coming for him, yet he still wanted his sight to return.

“Makes me question, how will your body or soul or whatever caused the disease know that your feelings are returned?”  
“I dunno. A confession maybe?”  
“But that one could be fake, too. You could say that just to save the person because you care about them but not in a romantic way.” Ruki had a point and it made Shosei wonder whether there was a way to save him. 

“True.” At the same time Ruki’s words seemed to confirm Shosei’s assumption that the other one indeed had no feelings for him. It hurt, but that was life. Life wasn’t fair sometimes. In the moment of his biggest win, it turned out to be his last stage as a dancer. It was sad, yet he was happy that it was Ruki at least with who he shared his last stages. “It’s okay. I hope I can finish the tour at least. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone.”  
“But I want to continue to have you in my team. I want to stand with you on stage in the future.”

Hearing that Ruki cared for him at least, made him feel content. While it might not be enough to cure his disease, it confirmed that he didn’t fall for a bad person. Life was cruel sometimes. “I’m sorry. You will find someone new.”  
“But I don’t want to. I want to have Kosuke, Fumiya, Ryo and especially you in my team. I don’t want to part from you. I just found you.” Now it was Ruki who was crying, but he cried real tears. The sight hurt to watch; thus Shosei tried his best to comfort him while whispering how sorry he was.

“The day I saw you dancing, I knew I had to recruit you. You danced so beautifully. Yasupon was sceptical because you are so young, but I wanted to meet and get to know you.”, confessed the singer.  
“You were there, too?” Shosei was sure that he hadn’t seen Ruki on that day. When he had talked to Kosuke, the dancer had been alone.  
“I had to disguise myself or otherwise everyone would have gone crazy, but yes. I made Yasupon offer you the spot in my dance team.”

The revelation was sudden. Once more, Shosei couldn’t believe the luck that someone as extraordinary as Ruki had noticed him and wanted to work with him. “I guess you made a mistake.”  
“No, I didn’t. And I won’t let you become blind. You will stay with me.” Suddenly, the idol lifted the blonde one’s face and kissed him. Everything seemed more unreal than his disease, yet the blonde one closed his eyes and kissed him back. Ruki’s lips had a slight salty taste because of his tears, but it was alright. That the older one was willing to go this length to save his eyesight meant a lot to him. 

However, when Shosei opened his eyes again, his world wasn’t grey anymore. The colour had returned and he needed to blink a few times, so that he could adjust to the new view in front of him.  
“I’m sorry if it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry Shosei, I did all that I could do. I wanted to make everything right...” Ruki seemed to misinterpret his reaction and tears were still rolling down on his face.  
“You like me, too?”

“Of course, you idiot. At first, I only admired your dance, but then I’ve got to know you and you were so sweet all the time. You didn’t lecture me for my mistakes like everyone else, instead you helped with your beautiful kind smile. And your eyes... Those droopy eyes. I could look at them all the time. That they will stop shining it’s the worst part.” Besides not saying those three magical words, Shosei knew that those words were a full-fledged confession. 

“They won’t stop shining. Your feelings are enough.” The kiss earlier had proved it already, yet naturally the betterment of his sight was only visible to Shosei. “Your eyes look beautiful, too. Especially when they aren’t red from crying.”  
In that moment, Ruki also realised that the other man was healed and he couldn’t help but kiss him again. 

_Epilogue_  
A few months later, Ruki was on tour once more. He had just realised a new album which was another hit. The lead track “Star Tears” involved a special choreography that involved just him and Shosei. The other dancers took a break backstage in the meantime.

“Jealous that Ruki found a new favourite dancer and roommate?”, tried Ryo to tease Kosuke while they watched the two perform from the backstage area.  
“Absolutely not. I can finally sleep before 4 AM.” Sure, it was weird to share the singer with someone else in some way now, but Kosuke was glad that his friend had found happiness finally. They were a cute couple.  
“He is absolutely jealous.”  
“Shut up, Fumiya.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday to my birthday twin, Kukki!  
> I hope you like the story.
> 
> I hope everyone else likes the story too!  
> After Hanahaki I wanted to try another fictional disease & the star tears one just fit perfectly to RukiSei.  
> See ya in a few hours for Keigo’s bday AU~


End file.
